Division I

Softball

Tennessee Athletics | March 20, 2015

Four homers power No. 14 Tennessee past No. 19 Missouri

Taylor Koenig hit her team-high 11th homer and Tennessee's third grand slam of the season.

Share

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Tory Lewis, Megan Geer, Taylor Koenig and Meghan Gregg hit home runs on Friday to power No. 14 Tennessee past No. 19 Missouri 12-4 in six frames in Game 1 of their three-game series at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium.

The Lady Vols (20-6, 2-2 SEC) scored one run in the first inning, four in the second and four in the fourth. The Tigers (19-4, 3-1 SEC) plated runs in the second, third, fifth and sixth.

Tennessee took a 1-0 lead in the first inning when Annie Aldrete clubbed a two-out RBI triple to center field, scoring Megan Geer from third base. The triple was Aldrete's first on the season and the third of her career.

Missouri answered with one run in the top of the second to knot the game at 1-1. With two outs, Angela Randazzo hit an RBI single down the left field line, plating Amanda Sanchez.

UT added four more runs in the bottom of the second to take a 5-1 lead. With two outs, Tory Lewis ended a 10-pitch at-bat by crushing a 3-2 pitch over the wall in right field for her second career home run. Two batters later, Megan Geer smashed a 1-2 pitch for a two-run homer to left field.

The Tigers scored one run in the top of the third when Corrin Genovese grounded into a 4-3-6 double play and Emily Crane scored before Sami Fagan was caught in the rundown.

In the bottom of the fourth, Taylor Koenig smashed a two-out grand slam to straightaway center to expand the Lady Vols' lead to 9-2. The homer was Koenig's team-high 11th of the year and Tennessee's third grand slam of the season. It was also the first grand slam of Koenig's collegiate career.

Randazzo hit a leadoff home run to center field to open the fifth inning, bringing Mizzou to withing 9-3.

The Tigers opened the sixth inning with another home run. Genovese smacked a solo blast to left off a 1-2 pitch from Rainey Gaffin, pulling Mizzou to within 9-4.